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A Cold Case
Follows investigator Andy Rosenzweig's three- decades-long pursuit of Frankie Koehler, a brilliant killer who keeps eluding capture.
200 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 2001
6 people are currently reading
414 people want to read
About the author
Philip Gourevitch
48 books692 followersGourevitch was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, to painter Jacqueline Gourevitch and philosophy professor Victor Gourevitch, a translator of Jean Jacques Rousseau. He and his brother Marc, a physician, spent most of their childhood in Middletown, Connecticut, where their father taught at Wesleyan University from 1967 to 1995. Gourevitch graduated from Choate Rosemary Hall in Wallingford, Connecticut.
Gourevitch knew that he wanted to be a writer by the time he went to college. He attended Cornell University. He took a break for three years in order to concentrate fully on writing. He eventually graduated in 1986. In 1992 he received a Masters of Fine Arts in fiction from the Writing Program at Columbia University. Gourevitch went on to publish some short fiction in literary magazines, before turning to non-fiction.
Gourevitch knew that he wanted to be a writer by the time he went to college. He attended Cornell University. He took a break for three years in order to concentrate fully on writing. He eventually graduated in 1986. In 1992 he received a Masters of Fine Arts in fiction from the Writing Program at Columbia University. Gourevitch went on to publish some short fiction in literary magazines, before turning to non-fiction.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 64 reviews
August 16, 2018
The fictional nature of the police procedural was brought home to me a summer or two ago when my neighborhood began to experience a rash of break-ins. The thieves were casing houses, marking habits and routines, and striking in broad daylight with a remarkably coordinated efficiency. Anxiety was running high - its partner, paranoia, not all that far behind. One of the recent robbery victims arranged a brief seminar with two of our local patrolmen; a sunset talk that even these seasoned men-in-blue were surprised to find so well-attended. The standard precautionary measures were relayed (fences, dogs, alarm systems, increased awareness of strangers), and then the floor was opened to discussion.
There were a lot of silly questions. Frightened people have a tendency to cycle pretty quickly from rational inquiry to emotional redress. One rattled family man thought it might be a good idea to have the cops come by his house every so often and join him for a cup of coffee. (The theory being if they knew him better they'd be better able to protect him.) One woman felt her next-door neighbors should be assigned the responsibility of keeping a close eye on her home while she was at work during the day. She offered no quid pro quo, however, and saw no shade of entitlement in the request. This went on for awhile. The conversation eventually shifted to how best to respond to suspicious behavior and the witnessing of a criminal act. You might think calling 911 was a no-brainer, but a whole bunch of people thought taking pictures with their phones was an equally pro-active option and had to be told in no uncertain terms, by the now visibly weary officers, that facial recognition software was not standard equipment down at the precinct, and that this wasn't really at all like Law & Order or CSI, and that it was far, far more important to get an officer on-site as quickly as possible than to gather up photographic evidence for trial.
And this would be why Philip Gourevitch's book is a meaningful addition to the field of true crime.
A Cold Case is the story of Andy Rosenzweig, chief investigator for the Manhattan District Attorney's office, and his resurrection of a murder case abandoned decades ago by the NYPD. The bodies of the victims were available and had been autopsied. The facts of the case were clear. The identity of the murderer was known. Eyewitnesses existed. But the killer was on the run, and the reality of urban policing is one of priority and manpower. A few years go by and the file sinks lower and lower in the stack. Were it not for Rosenzweig's bulldog character and his familiarity with one of the deceased, there's every reason to believe this case would have gone unresolved. Gourevitch, in his telling, presents not a single bell or whistle; no melodramatic twist, clinching truth or brilliant last-minute revelation. His is the flat and very ordinary tale of diligent detective work - written, it must be said, with fierce directness and a flair for personality that compels.
As an account of modern-day detection, I found it genuinely fascinating and a refreshing return to police work as it is actually practiced by experts in the field.
There were a lot of silly questions. Frightened people have a tendency to cycle pretty quickly from rational inquiry to emotional redress. One rattled family man thought it might be a good idea to have the cops come by his house every so often and join him for a cup of coffee. (The theory being if they knew him better they'd be better able to protect him.) One woman felt her next-door neighbors should be assigned the responsibility of keeping a close eye on her home while she was at work during the day. She offered no quid pro quo, however, and saw no shade of entitlement in the request. This went on for awhile. The conversation eventually shifted to how best to respond to suspicious behavior and the witnessing of a criminal act. You might think calling 911 was a no-brainer, but a whole bunch of people thought taking pictures with their phones was an equally pro-active option and had to be told in no uncertain terms, by the now visibly weary officers, that facial recognition software was not standard equipment down at the precinct, and that this wasn't really at all like Law & Order or CSI, and that it was far, far more important to get an officer on-site as quickly as possible than to gather up photographic evidence for trial.
And this would be why Philip Gourevitch's book is a meaningful addition to the field of true crime.
A Cold Case is the story of Andy Rosenzweig, chief investigator for the Manhattan District Attorney's office, and his resurrection of a murder case abandoned decades ago by the NYPD. The bodies of the victims were available and had been autopsied. The facts of the case were clear. The identity of the murderer was known. Eyewitnesses existed. But the killer was on the run, and the reality of urban policing is one of priority and manpower. A few years go by and the file sinks lower and lower in the stack. Were it not for Rosenzweig's bulldog character and his familiarity with one of the deceased, there's every reason to believe this case would have gone unresolved. Gourevitch, in his telling, presents not a single bell or whistle; no melodramatic twist, clinching truth or brilliant last-minute revelation. His is the flat and very ordinary tale of diligent detective work - written, it must be said, with fierce directness and a flair for personality that compels.
As an account of modern-day detection, I found it genuinely fascinating and a refreshing return to police work as it is actually practiced by experts in the field.
August 30, 2020
Chronique à venir sur mon blog. Ceux qui me suivent savent que j'aime les journalistes d'investigation et ma découverte de Philip Gourevitch a été une excellente chose !
January 1, 2018
My mate Dan McMullan is a Berkeley shit-kicker. Seems unlikely as he's missing a leg. But when we were pals in the 1980s I witnessed him shove a cop who was in the face of a fellow homeless man while they were enjoying a beer on Telegraph Avenue. That kind of behaviour put Danny in jail a lot. We corresponded, he turned out to be a brilliant jailhouse writer. Now he's a playwright and major activist for the Bay Area homeless. But he recently mentioned an uncle, Frank Koehler. Dan wrote, "These mob guys are full of stories but they neglect to mention how much work it is to bury a guy,(unless of course something funny happens like leaving a body part in the trunk or hitting a water main...)."
Gourevitch tracks the cop who finally nails Koehler after decades in the cold case files. Dan says the book is full of shit in its portrayal of his uncle, but then Dan probably has an affinity for thugs.
One more thing about Danny. When I was shipping used pianos to Cuba (a piano enema for the Clinton administration's blocked-up Cuba policies) we devised a plan to collect discarded prostheses from his fellow amputees and fill a container to send to the Cuban medical system: Arms for Cuba.
Gourevitch tracks the cop who finally nails Koehler after decades in the cold case files. Dan says the book is full of shit in its portrayal of his uncle, but then Dan probably has an affinity for thugs.
One more thing about Danny. When I was shipping used pianos to Cuba (a piano enema for the Clinton administration's blocked-up Cuba policies) we devised a plan to collect discarded prostheses from his fellow amputees and fill a container to send to the Cuban medical system: Arms for Cuba.
August 26, 2017
A short book (100 pages that began life in New Yorker magazine) about a detective who locates a missing murder suspect after 27 years, long after everyone else had given up on the case. The book runs out of steam after the perpetrator is caught, but it remains a worthwhile read.
May 25, 2021
Nearly retired detective Rosenzweig drives past the site of a restaurant where a friend was murdered 30 years earlier and wonders what happened to the case. He finds it was closed years earlier when the murderer was declared dead solely on the basis of relatives saying "Nope, haven't seen him." He reopens it and stubbornly gets his man.
February 28, 2016
"Cold Case" started as an article in the New Yorker and maybe there isn't really enough there to justify a book (as short as this one is). Nonetheless Gourevitch manages to deliver a multifaceted and interesting story. The book shows us that solving a crime is about luck, hunches, looking over the tedious paper trail and working people. The really interesting part of this book isn't so much the actual crime or the investigation years after the fact but the detective investigating it. Through this detectives stories we get a picture of the evolution of policing seen from his early days on the streets to his final cases as a detective before retiring.
August 8, 2018
Frankie Koehler shot two men dead in 1970, then disappeared. Almost thirty years later, a cop on the verge of retirement re-opens the case to see what turns up. A lesser writer would've taken twice this length to achieve half as much as Gourevitch does in under 200 pages. The narrative is tight, clean. The characters come alive through their speech. He adheres to Elmore Leonard's dictum of leaving the shit out that other writers take pains to put in. This is an excellent character study of a minor crime and the man who committed it. If it were a movie, Cagney would play Koehler, and Koehler would've been thrilled at that.
September 29, 2022
Ende der 90er Jahre nahm in New York ein Polizist einen Fall wieder auf, der lange Jahre an ihm genagt hatte. Fast dreißig Jahre vorher wurde ein Freund von Andy Rosenzweig nach einem Streit in seiner Wohnung erschossen. Es gab einen Verdächtigen, den die Polizei aber nicht fassen konnte. Wenige Jahre später wurde Frank Koehler, der vermeintliche Täter, für tot erklärt und der Fall geschlossen. Rosenzweig konnte aber nicht damit abschließen. Nicht nur, weil eines der beiden Opfer ein Freund von ihm war. Sondern auch, weil seiner Meinung nach nicht genug unternommen wurde, um den Täter hinter Gitter zu bringen.
Frank Koehlers kriminelle Karriere ist typisch. Schon als Jugendlicher kam er immer wieder mit dem Gesetz in Konflikt und kam in Jugendstrafanstalten. Seine einzige Chance auf ein geregeltes Leben war die Armee, aus der er desertierte. Kurz darauf tötete er einen Mann, der ihn seiner Meinung nach betrogen hatte. Trotz dieser und anderer Taten blieb er nie lange im Gefängnis. Der Doppelmord ist der traurige Höhepunkt. Danach verschwand er und es wurde still um ihn. Deshalb und vielleicht auch weil ein gelöster Fall besser in der Statistik aussieht) wurde er für tot erklärt und der Fall geschlossen.
Frank ist ein böser Mensch, eine andere Bezeichnung fällt mir zu ihm nicht ein. Er nimmt sich, was er will und hat seine eigene Gerechtigkeit. Schuldgefühle wegen seines ersten Mordes hat er nicht. Dabei hält er sich nicht für einen schlechten Menschen, denn er hat noch nie seine Frau oder Kinder geschlagen oder ähnliche unmoralische Dinge gemacht. Mord ist für ihn eine Ehrensache. Außerdem übernimmt er keine Verantwortung. Für ihn lassen sich seine Taten durch jeweiligen Umstände erklären und wenn er überhaupt an eines seiner Opfer denkt dann nur wie an etwas Lästiges.
Ganz anders ist der Mann, der sich auf seine Fersen heftet. Andy Rosenzweig war am Anfang seiner Karriere bei der Polizei nicht beliebt. Er schlief nicht im Streifenwagen, wenn er im Dienst war oder nahm Bestechungsgelder an. Den leichten Weg ist er bei seiner Arbeit nie gegangen. Deshalb tat es ihm auch so weh, dass der Fall seines Freundes so früh zu den Akten gelegt worden war.
Die Ermittlungen im Fall Frank Koehler sind mühevolle Puzzlearbeit. Einiges von dem, was Rosenzweig aufgedeckt hat, wirft ein sehr schlechtes Licht auf die New Yorker Polizei und ihre Arbeit. Ich bin mir nicht sicher, ob es Einzelfälle waren oder leider der traurige Standard. Was mich gewundert hat, ist dass Rosenzweig sich so lange Zeit mit seinen Ermittlungen gelassen hat. Wenn der Fall wirklich so an ihm genagt hat, hätte er sich doch früher wieder damit beschäftigen können.
Für mich war es das zweite Mal, dass ich A cold case gelesen habe. Das erste Mal ist fast zehn Jahre her. Vielleicht konnte ich mich deshalb nicht daran erinnern, als ich das Buch in einem öffentlichen Bücherschrank gefunden habe. Vielleicht liegt es aber auch daran, dass das Buch weder vom Stil noch vom Inhalt so interessant waren, dass sie bei mir noch lange nachwirken.
Frank Koehlers kriminelle Karriere ist typisch. Schon als Jugendlicher kam er immer wieder mit dem Gesetz in Konflikt und kam in Jugendstrafanstalten. Seine einzige Chance auf ein geregeltes Leben war die Armee, aus der er desertierte. Kurz darauf tötete er einen Mann, der ihn seiner Meinung nach betrogen hatte. Trotz dieser und anderer Taten blieb er nie lange im Gefängnis. Der Doppelmord ist der traurige Höhepunkt. Danach verschwand er und es wurde still um ihn. Deshalb und vielleicht auch weil ein gelöster Fall besser in der Statistik aussieht) wurde er für tot erklärt und der Fall geschlossen.
Frank ist ein böser Mensch, eine andere Bezeichnung fällt mir zu ihm nicht ein. Er nimmt sich, was er will und hat seine eigene Gerechtigkeit. Schuldgefühle wegen seines ersten Mordes hat er nicht. Dabei hält er sich nicht für einen schlechten Menschen, denn er hat noch nie seine Frau oder Kinder geschlagen oder ähnliche unmoralische Dinge gemacht. Mord ist für ihn eine Ehrensache. Außerdem übernimmt er keine Verantwortung. Für ihn lassen sich seine Taten durch jeweiligen Umstände erklären und wenn er überhaupt an eines seiner Opfer denkt dann nur wie an etwas Lästiges.
Ganz anders ist der Mann, der sich auf seine Fersen heftet. Andy Rosenzweig war am Anfang seiner Karriere bei der Polizei nicht beliebt. Er schlief nicht im Streifenwagen, wenn er im Dienst war oder nahm Bestechungsgelder an. Den leichten Weg ist er bei seiner Arbeit nie gegangen. Deshalb tat es ihm auch so weh, dass der Fall seines Freundes so früh zu den Akten gelegt worden war.
Die Ermittlungen im Fall Frank Koehler sind mühevolle Puzzlearbeit. Einiges von dem, was Rosenzweig aufgedeckt hat, wirft ein sehr schlechtes Licht auf die New Yorker Polizei und ihre Arbeit. Ich bin mir nicht sicher, ob es Einzelfälle waren oder leider der traurige Standard. Was mich gewundert hat, ist dass Rosenzweig sich so lange Zeit mit seinen Ermittlungen gelassen hat. Wenn der Fall wirklich so an ihm genagt hat, hätte er sich doch früher wieder damit beschäftigen können.
Für mich war es das zweite Mal, dass ich A cold case gelesen habe. Das erste Mal ist fast zehn Jahre her. Vielleicht konnte ich mich deshalb nicht daran erinnern, als ich das Buch in einem öffentlichen Bücherschrank gefunden habe. Vielleicht liegt es aber auch daran, dass das Buch weder vom Stil noch vom Inhalt so interessant waren, dass sie bei mir noch lange nachwirken.
September 17, 2017
This should be titled, "Manhunt", or something along those lines. This is more of a search for a known killer who had been identified, versus a true "cold case" in terms of not having identified an offender in a murder. A quick, easy read, sort of similar to reading a case file on a police report. It provides some detail on procedures for conducting surveillance and follow-up on an investigation; but it really is no different than a thousand other homicide stories that play out in the United States in any given year. The offender is really not an interesting subject; he seems like a typical sociopathic killer who got away with murder for a number of decades before being caught late in his life. His ramblings on life, religion and justification for a means to an end for what he did are nominal, just average. I would have liked him to go into more detail on his old neighborhood contacts with the mafia (like the "Good Fellas" references), some of his fringe relationships in his early years that helped shape who he turned into. All in all it was just OK.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
May 16, 2017
Een waargebeurd verhaal over een politieman die vlak voor zijn pensioen toch nog een poging onderneemt om een beruchte moordenaar te pakken te krijgen.
Halverwege het boek (dat oorspronkelijk slechts een artikel was) is de spanning al volledig weg.
Ik had het gevoel dat de auteur er van alles bijgesleurd heeft om de feiten in een volwaardig boek te gieten, dat uiteindelijk dan nog maar 150 pagina's telt. Het was overduidelijk dat er niet zoveel te vertellen viel.
Wat mij betreft, was het beter bij een artikel gebleven.
Kortom, deze Cold Case laat me volledig koud...
Halverwege het boek (dat oorspronkelijk slechts een artikel was) is de spanning al volledig weg.
Ik had het gevoel dat de auteur er van alles bijgesleurd heeft om de feiten in een volwaardig boek te gieten, dat uiteindelijk dan nog maar 150 pagina's telt. Het was overduidelijk dat er niet zoveel te vertellen viel.
Wat mij betreft, was het beter bij een artikel gebleven.
Kortom, deze Cold Case laat me volledig koud...
October 11, 2020
I was enthralled and fascinated—not only for the clear, concise and vividly descriptive story of the detective who chased down an old, archived police file... but for the story of Frank Koehler/O'Grady himself. I was his next-door neighbor for over ten years in Benica, CA. It is not often in life that vague suspicions of dark deeds from a person's past are confirmed with such thorough detail. I touch on this story in my memoir 'The Incompetent Psychic' and credit Philip Gourevitch and this book in a footnote.
July 7, 2019
This book was a good little quick True Crime read that I picked up at a local used book sale. I enjoyed the premise of the book, highlighting the story of a police officer who re-opens a cold case that he feels should have an ending.
I felt that the book was very good, up until they found the suspect about half way through the book. After that point the story really slowed down. I think that the book may have been stronger had they highlighted two separate cases instead of just the one.
The original writings of this book were published in a magazine.
I felt that the book was very good, up until they found the suspect about half way through the book. After that point the story really slowed down. I think that the book may have been stronger had they highlighted two separate cases instead of just the one.
The original writings of this book were published in a magazine.
May 15, 2022
My husband found this book on a $2 shelf at a beautiful Indy bookstore. He put it down and I picked it up. It is a true crime story about a cold murder case and the detective who becomes obsessed with it. As I worked in criminal law for a while, I could relate to all of the characters…both law enforcement and criminal. This is a very well-written book about an interesting murderer…he is smart, savvy, and feels very sorry for himself. The cop chasing him is honest and decent. A good read.
September 14, 2024
Letto il: 13/09/2024
Lingua: Italiano
Tempo di lettura: -
Commento:
Libro corto riguardo ad un'investigazione su un caso di omicidio di ventisette anni prima. È stato molto interessante vedere la prospettiva di tutte le persone coinvolte nella faccenda, compresi i parenti delle vittime, il poliziotto e l'assassino stesso.
Lingua: Italiano
Tempo di lettura: -
Commento:
Libro corto riguardo ad un'investigazione su un caso di omicidio di ventisette anni prima. È stato molto interessante vedere la prospettiva di tutte le persone coinvolte nella faccenda, compresi i parenti delle vittime, il poliziotto e l'assassino stesso.
May 5, 2017
From what I recall, this book was first an article in the New Yorker magazine and then grew into a book.
It's not a long book and details the dogged investigation into a cold murder case. It is a good police procedural and brought to life by Gourevitch's writing.
Highly recommended.
It's not a long book and details the dogged investigation into a cold murder case. It is a good police procedural and brought to life by Gourevitch's writing.
Highly recommended.
July 29, 2019
The author is (was?) a staffwriter with The New Yorker and this true crime book is written in the journalistic style of an article in that publication. The 20-year old unsolved murder that is dealt with in the book is not one that is widely known and the prose is rather dry and encyclopedic.
January 26, 2020
This may be my most re-read book, for the prose, the content, and the picture of NYC from before I was born: drugs, crime, thuggery weren't an invention of the 60s and 70s. Yeh, I know that's naive, but it's good to be reminded that the world didn't begin from the time of your earliest memories.
June 29, 2017
A quality, if simplistic, story of the reopening of a cold case.
September 15, 2017
Interesting story that tells the story of a murder in 1970 that was solved 28 years later. Nothing too exciting, but it was well-written and entertaining.
May 24, 2018
A true crime story that tries, and fails, to avoid idolizing the murderer.
Very short, though!
Very short, though!
January 12, 2023
Short and to the point, which is how all true crime should be, but rarely ever is.
August 22, 2023
A very quick read full of big personalities
January 27, 2025
A different cold case. The killer is known, but 27 years go by...
fantastic plot development
fantastic plot development
July 30, 2019
A quick read with some depth
This is about a small time hood, Frank G. Koehler, who got mad at a couple of guys and shot them both to death in cold blood while wounding a third party. That was in 1970. He escaped and was never brought to justice. Eventually the case was closed because somebody (Gourevitch doesn't tell us who) was of the "opinion" that Koehler had to be dead since (according to others) it was "virtually inconceivable that a man with such a violent disposition and criminal history could have remained alive and out of trouble" for so long. (p. 26) Then in 1997, 27 years after the crime, Andy Rosenzweig, chief investigator for Manhattan's district attorney, reopened the case.
But this really isn't about Rosenzweig's pursuit of Koehler. There wasn't much of a pursuit. They found him living in Benicia, California and picked him up when he arrived at Penn Station in New York on July 30, 1997, "a pathetic old man" 67-years-old. A photo taken that day makes him look like a rummy with a bad dye job.
So what's this book about, and why is it considered so good that Scott Turow and Elmore Leonard, among others, have touted it? Quite simply this is a textbook example of how to write a modest crime story with an underlying emphasis on our criminal justice system, how it works, and how it fails. Besides the two chief characters in the book, Koehler and Rosenzweig, there is a revealing portrait of defense attorney, "Don't Worry Murray" Murray Richman, a man who's made a nice living defending some of New York City's sleazier crooks. The aptly named Richman believes that there's a difference between the authorities and gangsters: "the gangsters are more compassionate." (p. 128) He adds (p. 132): "If I defended only innocent people, I'd go hungry." He says he believes in the system (which is one of the reasons he defends the accused), but his bottom line philosophy is "The truth is there is no truth." (p. 132).
There's a certain nostalgic gangster color to the characters in this book. Koehler is a particularly good study, a guy who first killed when he was fifteen years old, but a guy who somehow while on the lam for twenty-seven years, managed to become so beloved that he was thought of by some of the people in Benicia, California as "their unofficial mayor" and they supported him with t-shirts reading "free New York Frankie." (p. 161)
Rosenzweig is the hero, a guy who never gives up, an honest cop who works methodically, dotting all the i's and crossing all the t's until he gets his man, a born bloodhound, and the kind of guy we ought to have more of in law enforcement.
Much of this true crime story first appeared in The New Yorker where Gourevitch's crisp, clean prose was much ballyhooed. This book expands on what I read there. It's an attractive book and a quick read.
--Dennis Littrell, author of the mystery novel, “Teddy and Teri”
This is about a small time hood, Frank G. Koehler, who got mad at a couple of guys and shot them both to death in cold blood while wounding a third party. That was in 1970. He escaped and was never brought to justice. Eventually the case was closed because somebody (Gourevitch doesn't tell us who) was of the "opinion" that Koehler had to be dead since (according to others) it was "virtually inconceivable that a man with such a violent disposition and criminal history could have remained alive and out of trouble" for so long. (p. 26) Then in 1997, 27 years after the crime, Andy Rosenzweig, chief investigator for Manhattan's district attorney, reopened the case.
But this really isn't about Rosenzweig's pursuit of Koehler. There wasn't much of a pursuit. They found him living in Benicia, California and picked him up when he arrived at Penn Station in New York on July 30, 1997, "a pathetic old man" 67-years-old. A photo taken that day makes him look like a rummy with a bad dye job.
So what's this book about, and why is it considered so good that Scott Turow and Elmore Leonard, among others, have touted it? Quite simply this is a textbook example of how to write a modest crime story with an underlying emphasis on our criminal justice system, how it works, and how it fails. Besides the two chief characters in the book, Koehler and Rosenzweig, there is a revealing portrait of defense attorney, "Don't Worry Murray" Murray Richman, a man who's made a nice living defending some of New York City's sleazier crooks. The aptly named Richman believes that there's a difference between the authorities and gangsters: "the gangsters are more compassionate." (p. 128) He adds (p. 132): "If I defended only innocent people, I'd go hungry." He says he believes in the system (which is one of the reasons he defends the accused), but his bottom line philosophy is "The truth is there is no truth." (p. 132).
There's a certain nostalgic gangster color to the characters in this book. Koehler is a particularly good study, a guy who first killed when he was fifteen years old, but a guy who somehow while on the lam for twenty-seven years, managed to become so beloved that he was thought of by some of the people in Benicia, California as "their unofficial mayor" and they supported him with t-shirts reading "free New York Frankie." (p. 161)
Rosenzweig is the hero, a guy who never gives up, an honest cop who works methodically, dotting all the i's and crossing all the t's until he gets his man, a born bloodhound, and the kind of guy we ought to have more of in law enforcement.
Much of this true crime story first appeared in The New Yorker where Gourevitch's crisp, clean prose was much ballyhooed. This book expands on what I read there. It's an attractive book and a quick read.
--Dennis Littrell, author of the mystery novel, “Teddy and Teri”
November 17, 2017
Philip Gourevitch wrote hands down the most harrowing non-fiction book I've ever read: We Wish To Inform You That Tomorrow We Will Be Killed With Our Families. It was a book that gave me nightmares and though I read it almost half a decade ago, there are parts that still stay with me: Gourevitch trying hard to 'respect the dead' and not step on any bones in a killing field, only to realise the place is quite literally, paved with bones; a throwaway detail about how all the dogs in Rwanda were culled because they'd been feasting on human flesh and page after page of anecdotes and incidents that mostly shatter your faith in people...I don't know what, if anything can top this and I'm not sure I'd want to read it. And so, quite naturally, I got curious about the rest of his bibliography and picked Kindle versions of pretty much everything he's written so far.
SPOILERS AHEAD
Cold Case is a lot less ambitious and so a lot less impactful, playing out more like a real-life noir/detective story than anything else. A singularly bloody-minded cop decides to reopen the investigation into the death of one of his friends, nearly two decades after the fact and then, via painstaking deduction and an absolute absence of serendipity and lucky breaks, manages to bring the culprit to book.
The murderer, Frank Koehler, turns out to be an enigmatic character spouting the kind of lines that wouldn't seem out of place in a Jim Thompson novel, as he tries to come to terms with the choices he's made, and where they've led him. At times, Koehler comes across as almost too perfect an enigma, and had I lived any place else but Bombay, where you don't have to look too hard to find casually poetic characters who speak "in dialogue", I'd start wondering about how credible the book was.
It's a great evocation of the New York of the 50s and 60s, peopled with characters that the author acknowledges are a dying breed even as he writes about them: "scumbags" with some vaguely defined, and (what struck me as) a highly convenient code of honour.
SPOILERS AHEAD
Cold Case is a lot less ambitious and so a lot less impactful, playing out more like a real-life noir/detective story than anything else. A singularly bloody-minded cop decides to reopen the investigation into the death of one of his friends, nearly two decades after the fact and then, via painstaking deduction and an absolute absence of serendipity and lucky breaks, manages to bring the culprit to book.
The murderer, Frank Koehler, turns out to be an enigmatic character spouting the kind of lines that wouldn't seem out of place in a Jim Thompson novel, as he tries to come to terms with the choices he's made, and where they've led him. At times, Koehler comes across as almost too perfect an enigma, and had I lived any place else but Bombay, where you don't have to look too hard to find casually poetic characters who speak "in dialogue", I'd start wondering about how credible the book was.
It's a great evocation of the New York of the 50s and 60s, peopled with characters that the author acknowledges are a dying breed even as he writes about them: "scumbags" with some vaguely defined, and (what struck me as) a highly convenient code of honour.
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March 27, 2009Read the STOP SMILING interview with Philip Gourevitch:
Q&A: PHILIP GOUREVITCH
(This interview originally appeared in the STOP SMILING The Downfall of American Publishing Issue)
This spring, Gourevitch became only the third editor in the 52-year history of The Paris Review, following the departure of Brigid Hughes, who initially took over the editorial reins after the death of George Plimpton in September 2003. Gourevitch is the author of two books of nonfiction, We Wish to Inform You That Tomorrow We Will Be Killed With Our Families: Stories from Rwanda and A Cold Case (Picador).
Stop Smiling: How do you think the media has portrayed your editorship?
Philip Gourevitch: Following the death of George Plimpton, who had led, edited and personified The Paris Review for a long time, I think there was a kind of open question in the press of “Would it survive?” This was true among people involved with the magazine, as well as with people who looked at it entirely from the outside...
Read the STOP SMILING interview...
Q&A: PHILIP GOUREVITCH
(This interview originally appeared in the STOP SMILING The Downfall of American Publishing Issue)
This spring, Gourevitch became only the third editor in the 52-year history of The Paris Review, following the departure of Brigid Hughes, who initially took over the editorial reins after the death of George Plimpton in September 2003. Gourevitch is the author of two books of nonfiction, We Wish to Inform You That Tomorrow We Will Be Killed With Our Families: Stories from Rwanda and A Cold Case (Picador).
Stop Smiling: How do you think the media has portrayed your editorship?
Philip Gourevitch: Following the death of George Plimpton, who had led, edited and personified The Paris Review for a long time, I think there was a kind of open question in the press of “Would it survive?” This was true among people involved with the magazine, as well as with people who looked at it entirely from the outside...
Read the STOP SMILING interview...
July 4, 2009
At the age of 15, Frankie Koehler killed two men in cold blood. This young mobster later killed one of Andy Rosenzweig's best friends. Thirty years later, with this case unsolved, Andy refuses to retired without solving the crime of his friend.
This book is more of a case study into the mind of Frankie Koehler and why this mod-style mentality exists. I relished in Gourevitch's book about the Rwanda genocide, so I looked forward to reading his account of this real-life drama. It was interesting and his look into that criminal mind was interesting, but it was a let-down in that I felt he could have gone into the crime with more detail.
Interesting read for those who love the New York style mob genre. It is a very quick read, so get it at a used book store or library.
This book is more of a case study into the mind of Frankie Koehler and why this mod-style mentality exists. I relished in Gourevitch's book about the Rwanda genocide, so I looked forward to reading his account of this real-life drama. It was interesting and his look into that criminal mind was interesting, but it was a let-down in that I felt he could have gone into the crime with more detail.
Interesting read for those who love the New York style mob genre. It is a very quick read, so get it at a used book store or library.
July 16, 2014
As slight as the book is, I wasn't at all surprised to find out it started as a couple of New Yorker articles. What did surprise me is that Gourevitch doesn't appear to have attempted to pad it into something less meaningful. It's a pretty simple story about a NYC cop who got to thinking about an old case, and decided to work on it. And with considerable old-fashioned policing (that is, asking lots of questions of folks) the cops managed to catch a killer who had avoided them for more than twenty years.
There aren't any twists or turns to speak of. But it is fascinating to learn about a guy who managed to hide out for so long to avoid prosecution for crimes that were so straightforward. In fiction there's a point to murder; in real life, not so much.
ILL copy
There aren't any twists or turns to speak of. But it is fascinating to learn about a guy who managed to hide out for so long to avoid prosecution for crimes that were so straightforward. In fiction there's a point to murder; in real life, not so much.
ILL copy
January 13, 2016
This started out SO good. But, by the middle, it had reached the climax, and by the end, I'd wished it had ended 50 pages earlier. Basically, this is a true story about a double homicide that had been solved, but the person wasn't found for 27 years. Reason being, the suspect was presumed dead after a few years of trying to find him, so it was just filed away until a cop who had been friends with one of the victims started to wonder if the guy had ever been caught. So, he goes through the file and finds the guy. Pretty awesome story, and it's well written. Also, it tells a story of the insane, tough guy New York that I love.
March 12, 2016
You can tell this started out as an article and then morphed into a book. Frank Koehler is an interesting man. He described himself as one part priest and one part hoodlum. Since he never went to trail, he blames the investigator by saying "he went to the priest...The hoodlum would've never went for it." For something that I picked up for 50 cents at a book sale I was surprised I enjoyed it. I'm always hooked into murder stories on Dateline or shows like that. My husband always changes the channel in under a minute because if he waits any longer he knows he will have to sit through the entire show. So, if you get hooked into shows like me and come across this book, pick it up and enjoy!
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